France is opening its roads to self-driving car testing

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The French government has announced that it will allow car companies to test self-driving cars on public French roads, reports Designyourworld.

The change in policy is an element of the New Industrial France initiative, which aims to energize the country's industrial and manufacturing sectors.

The French government views the testing of autonomous vehicles as a public safety measure. According to the World Health Organization, France saw 3,268 road traffic deaths in 2013. KPMG projects that in the UK, self-driving cars could prevent up to 150 deaths a year by 2020. Specifically, the French see self-driving cars as a solution to, among other issues, those posed by drivers who are tired, enraged, or intoxicated.

France already allows some self-driving cars on its roads. The PSA Group, a French carmaker, has tested autonomous vehicles on public roadways. These new regulations will allow foreign manufacturers to begin testing their autonomous cars in France as well, providing a new site to gather data and further develop the programming behind self-driving technology, much like Toyota hopes to achieve in Japan.

But here in the U.S., self-driving cars must overcome several roadblocks before they reach mass adoption.

John Greenough, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on self-driving cars that examines the major strides automakers and tech companies have made to overcome the barriers currently preventing fully autonomous cars from hitting the market. Further, the report examines global survey results showing where fully autonomous cars are highly desired.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

Three barriers have been preventing fully autonomous cars from hitting the road: 1) high technological component prices; 2) varying degrees of consumer trust in the technology; and 3) relatively nonexistent regulations. However, in the past six months, there have been many advances in overcoming these barriers.

Technology has been improving as new market entrants find innovative ways to expand on existing fully autonomous car technology. As a result, the price of the components required for fully autonomous cars has been dropping.

Consumer trust in fully autonomous vehicle technology has increased in the past two years.

California became the first US state to propose regulations. California's regulations stipulate that a fully autonomous car must have a driver behind the wheel at all times, discouraging Google's and Uber's idea of a driverless taxi system.

In full, the report:

Examines consumer trust in fully autonomous vehicles

Identifies technological advancements that have been made in the industry

Analyzes the cost of fully autonomous technology and identifies how cost is being reduced

Explains the current regulations surrounding fully autonomous cars

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